Natsume Hyuuga: User's Guide
by Lady Drama
Summary: Congrats! You are now the proud owner of a Natsume Hyuuga Unit! Please read this guide to avoid ending up in the Intensive Care Unit.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you for purchasing a** NATSUME HYUUGA UNIT**

Enclosed is a full set of instructions. Please read carefully to get the most out of this wonderful product!

(_In case you do not wish to read this manual please to do call our company and see our latest insurance policies) _

_**Getting To Know Your Unit**_

**Name**: Natsume Hyuuga

**Height**: Depends on shipping age

**Eye color**: Devastating crimson

**Hair color**: Black (sigh!)

**Birthday**: Undisclosed (this is for your safety as the unit dislikes 'sissy' activities such as birthday parties and any attempt made by you to give him one could result in heavy fines for arson committed by your unit)

**Alice**: Fire

_**Accessories**_:

Amazingly hot body, 1

Mesmerizing eyes, 2

Black Cat outfit (with mask), 1

GA Uniform, 1

Socks (Though these are merely to complete the set. An attempt to make him actually wear these could result in injury)

Shoes, pair of, 1

Control Earring, 1

_**Getting Started**_:

Buy a sword (available in our extensive **Natsume Hyuuga protection catalogue)**

Slice the box open from a space distance

If the unit stands perfectly still and looks bored, LUCKY YOU!

However, if the unit's eyes flash do not stand around admiring them! Instead call firefighters (rented subjected to availability from the catalogue mentioned above) at **1-800-GA**

(_Note: Please do not worry about the unit's apparent state of inactivity. 'Boredom mode'/ 'Indifference mode' are its default settings)_

_**Programming:**_

Being one of the most complex units in our catalogue, the Natsume Hyuuga unit can be difficult to program. It is recommended that you buy a _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl_ unit first. In addition to being easy to handle, this unit will also provide protection in case of mishandling of the Natsume Hyuuga unit and resultant fire as it is quite resistant to the unit's Alice (see _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl_ information booklet for more details or call **1-800-GA**)

However once you learn how to handle him his functions are innumerable! Some of the basic ones include:

**Black Cat:** Tired of your irritating neighbor? Wish the horrible saleswomen who refuse to help just went to hell? Well, your Natsume Hyuuga unit will take care of it all! Not only will it assassinate the person in question but also cleverly destroy all evidence AND manage to return in one piece!

**GA Hottie**: The unit will read a manga or sleep under a sakura tree, giving you hours of amazing eye-candy!

**Protector:** If you are lucky enough to develop a bond with your unit it will protect you to the best of its ability.

_(Note: In case there is a Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl unit nearby you will automatically be shifted down to second priority level)_

**Confidant:** You can sit and talk to him for hours

_(Note: This function is safe to use only when the unit is asleep and after you have ordered earplugs, available in our really VERY extensive _**Natsume Hyuuga protection catalogue**_ and inserted them in the unit's ears. Failure to meet these conditions could result in you meeting a cosmetic surgeon)_

_**Modes:**_

**Indifferent/Bored** (default setting)

**Jealous** (When exposed to Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl and Ruka Nogi Bunny Boy units)

**Enigmatic** (if you have the guts to question him)

**Big-brotherly** (when exposed to _Youichi Scary Spirit_ unit)

_Note: This unit is a younger version of the Natsume Hyuuga unit itself_

**Caring **(only when a _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl_ unit in the area has not been serviced properly)

**Furious **(another unfortunate side-effect of the above event)

**Irritated **(It is the secondary default setting and the unit can switch to this in times of extreme provocation such as introduction to a _Sumire Shouda Fan Girl_ unit)

**Thoughtful** (THIS MODE CAN BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR YOUR UNIT as it may form some stupid, self-sacrificing plan leading to its destruction)

**Boyfriend **(The lover mode in your Natsume Hyuuga unit will not be activated until it meets a Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl unit so please stop trying to make it fall in love with you. You will only increase your own hospital bill)

**Perverted **(The most obvious indication that your unit has switched to this mode is the smirk on its face and the Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl unit's screams)

**Deadly** (Evade it at all costs. Otherwise you just might end up making your excuses in front of Lucifer)

_**Level of Interaction with other units:**_

While our company's GA catalogue offers too many units to cover here we shall provide a brief summary of your unit's level of interaction with the major ones:

**Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl unit**

The Natsume Hyuuga unit's relationship with this unit is beyond even our company's comprehension. While your unit will dislike the _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl_ unit at first and frequently activate his Alice against her, he will soon progress to the '_Pervert mode'_ with her and develop a level of understanding that allows him to (occasionally) switch over to '_Caring mode'_ and much, much later to '_Boyfriend mode'_

**Ruka Nogi Bunny Boy unit**

As the Natsume Hyuuga unit and _Ruka_ _Nogi Bunny Boy_ unit are manufactured by our company in the same factory in Japan they are comfortable around each other. Purchase of a _Ruka Nogi Bunny Boy_ unit could prevent your unit's switch to the extremely dangerous _'Thoughtful mode'_ as well as provide you with additional eye candy!

**Hotaru Imai Cold Genius unit**

While it may seem that the Natsume Hyuuga unit has no interaction with the _Hotaru Imai Cold Genius_ unit apart from the '_Blackmail_ _mode_' of the latter, they too have an unspoken understanding. The _Hotaru Imai Cold Genius_ unit is one of the most expensive products in our catalogue but it will take excellent care of your entire family of units thanks to its life-saving inventions **(Warning: We are not responsible for bankruptcy due to purchase of an Hotaru Imai Cold Genius Unit)**

**Aoi Hyuuga Kid Sister Unit**

This unit will bring out feelings of extreme protectiveness and concern in your unit. It will also bring out many other hidden features such as gentleness, compassion, love etc.

**Tsubasa Senpai Shadow Master Unit**

This unit will result in your unit's automatic switch to '_Jealousy mode'_. Interaction between these two units should be avoided.

**Persona Death Dude unit**

This is a defective unit and we are making every attempt to recall all such units. Unfortunately we have not succeeded in capturing them all. This unit has a terrible relationship level with your unit and could result in your unit's switch to '_Thoughtful'/ 'Destructive'/ 'Deadly' modes_

_**FAQs **_

**Q**: My Natsume Hyuuga unit has disappeared! What should I do?

**A**: Relax! Your unit has probably come into contact with a _Persona Death Dude_ unit and gone on a mission. Don't worry, it is guaranteed to return in one piece or you'll get your money back!

**Q:** My Natsume Hyuuga unit has switched to '_Extreme Irritation mode'_ and there is no _Sumire Shouda Fan-Girl_ unit for miles! What could be the problem?

**A**: The '_Extreme Irritation mode'_ is merely a transitional mode during which your unit realizes its feeling for the _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl Unit_. It will soon switch to the 'Boyfriend mode'

**PS: After the Boyfriend mode the next switch your unit makes will necessitate the rent/purchase of a **_**Narumi**__**Teacher/Matchmaker**_** unit to play Wedding Planner) **

**Q:** My Natsume Hyuuga unit just refuses to fall in love with me and keeps burning my hair! What should I do?

**A**: *Sigh* As we have already told a few million fan girls, no matter what you do a Natsume Hyuuga unit WON'T fall in love with you. That particular mode can be activated only by a _Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl _unit

**WARNING: OUR COMPANY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DEATH OR DESTRUCTION OR HEARTBURN (LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE) CAUSED BY THE NATSUME HYUUGA UNIT!**

_Customer Care Services: In case you didn't read this manual properly and just flipped through it, we have provided a blank sheet with the product for you to write your Will on._

_**Thank you once again for getting our most hazardous and temperamental unit off our hands! *Whew***_

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So what do you think? Should I write about a Tsubasa Senpai Shadow Master/ Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl/ Ruka Nogi Bunny Boy/ Hotaru Imai Cold Genius/ any other unit?


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews!

This story may contradict the guide itself a little as I had written the guide as a one-shot. I'm sorry for that.

This chapter is dedicated to **Agus-chan (Blissful Delight), DreamingReverie, SeraphMia and shainingu etowa-ru. **Your reviews inspired me to turn this into a story!

* * *

Mikan flipped through the instructions given in the _Natsume Hyuuga: User's Guide_ with a frown on her usually smiling face. She couldn't understand what all this was about. As she looked at the huge gift wrapped box in front of her, puzzled, she noticed a note stuck in the bow on top.

"Greetings Mikan-chan"

She turned it over, more confused than ever and saw a signature in a flowing, flowery writing.

"N-A-R-U-M-I", she read, as she slowly deciphered the curly cursive writing, "Narumi"

Her mind flashed back to the eccentric blonde man she'd met in the local park the previous evening. Their conversation had been short and she certainly couldn't remember his saying anything that hinted at his intention to send her a present the next evening.

_Mikan was out for her daily evening walk in the park. She waved at the man selling howalons and he grinned and walked towards his favorite customer. Mikan loved the sweet, fluffy candy and bought some everyday, despite sternly but fruitlessly reminding herself that she wanted to lose weight and eating candy wasn't exactly the best way to do it. The man smiled indulgently as he watched her longing for howalon fight with her desire to grow slimmer. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she bought the howalon. She walked on, telling herself that she definitely wouldn't buy any the next day. One of her old school friends, Misaki, was sitting on a bench, watching her one year old son play with the other toddlers. She waved when she saw Mikan and Mikan smiled back at her, heading towards the playground. It was her favorite part of the park. Mikan loved watching the little boys and girls play in the park and more often than not ended up joining in their games. They chatted for a while and as the sun set, Mikan got up to head home._

_So far, so boring, so normal._

_It was while she was taking her usual route back that Mikan noticed that a section of the park which had been shut down for renovation had been re-opened. The renovation had been due to take place almost 10 years ago but the City Council didn't want to spend any part of their budget on upgrading a run down old park that didn't really add to their income anyway. Curious, she decided to take a look at the place. Since she'd only moved into the area about 2 years ago, she had never been to that section of the park. As she went deeper into the garden, Mikan thought that it was beautiful, in a sad, lonely way. She noticed a wishing well and went up to it. Naively believing that it would really make her dreams come true, she tossed a coin in and said "I wish we stay together forever" while thinking about Ruka, her childhood crush and first love, whom she was currently dating. _

"_Hello there!"_

_The sudden appearance of a man behind her made her jump and she screamed "What the….."_

"_I'm Narumi" said the man pleasantly. He was tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes._

"_Mikan Sakura"_

"_Wishing for love?"_

"_I guess so"_

"_You guess so?" he asked, one eyebrow quirking upwards._

"_I already have a boyfriend. I'm just hoping that our relationship lasts"_

"_So you're looking for love! Fantastic!" exclaimed Narumi, clapping his hands together._

"_Er…sorry?" said Mikan, confused. She couldn't think of what in hell she'd said that was making this man look so ecstatic. _

"_What's your favorite color?" he asked, whipping out a pen and notebook._

"_Huh? Crimson, I guess"_

"_Brilliant. What do you like to do in your spare time?"_

"_Well I like reading romantic mangas"_

"_Mangas. Marvelous. Your favorite song?"_

"_Wait a sec, why are you asking me all these personal questions? You're just a random stranger!"_

"_Please answer properly, Miss Sakura" he said reprovingly, sounding almost like a teacher, "Now, your favorite food?"_

"_Burgers…no, wait, hang on, you still haven't answered my question!"_

"_Hmm… Burgers, tricky, very tricky"_

"_I'm getting out of here"_

_As Mikan walked away, Narumi cried "No! Please wait Mikan! Just a few more questions!"_

_As she disappeared from sight, he looked at his notepad thoughtfully and sighed "Oh well, it'll have to do"_

Mikan stared at the note, unsure of what to do. She should probably return the gift to the post office. But still, it was such a _big_ gift. What could possibly be inside? Surely just taking a quick peek couldn't hurt? She'd just cut it open carefully, take a look, seal it back up and deliver it.

As Mikan ran to the kitchen to get scissors to cut the bow open with, speculations ran through her mind. It could be a mountain of howalon or a huge talking potato or maybe it was…..

Ah! There it was! She raced back to her door, carrying the biggest scissor she could find. She cut through the ribbon eagerly.

BOOM!

The whole box exploded the second it was opened. Mikan was thrown backwards, inside her house. Coughing and rubbing the smoke from her eyes, she stared in disbelief at the wreckage of her living room. The sofa was upturned, the television screen had a crack in it, all her wall hangings had fallen off and worst of all, the kitchen had been affected and the refrigerator's cord broken. Her precious food!

She stormed out of her house, planning to confront that horrible Narumi immediately and giving him a piece of her mind.

She stopped short when she caught sight of her present. The force of the explosion had sent it flying backwards onto the road. The tar was melting near the box and fire seemed to be consuming the cardboard down. As the box burnt away, a boy was revealed.

He was about her age, maybe a year or two older. His hair was black and very messy, his features resembled those of a supermodel and his body toned but it was three totally different things about him that caught Mikan's attention. His eyes were crimson. He was reading a manga. And he was just finishing off a burger. How in….

"Natsume Hyuuga" he said, without looking up from his manga.

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Hope you liked it! I'm still not sure where to place Hotaru in all this. The rest of the characters are pretty much set in my mind. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!

Love,

Liz


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. Yet. Voldemort's promised to hand the rights over to me once he's conquered the world.**

* * *

Mikan stared at the boy in front of her, totally dazed. What the hell was going on here? And why did the raven haired boy in front of her look just a little bit familiar?

She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of her nosy neighbor and co worker, Sumire Shouda, loudly cursing as she lugged a huge bag of groceries up to her house. However, as soon as she caught sight of Natsume, she stopped short.

"Wha…." said Sumire, dropping her bags. The bags split open and all her food fell out. But Sumire didn't even notice as egg yolk mixed with cabbage was provided a topping by strawberry jam leaking out of a broken bottle.

Mikan groaned. Brilliant. It was just further proof of her incredible luck that Sumire had seen him. Now Sumire and her entire group of fan girls would be panting outside her house by the next morning.

Because there really was no denying it that the boy was simply gorgeous. Every time he flipped those raven locks off his forehead, Sumire drooled so much that they would have had a swimming pool there if he sat around outside for an hour.

"Bye Sumire!" said Mikan, as cheerfully as she could while dragging Natsume inside her own house. He didn't really resist, just looked bored.

Sumire, mouth open wide and eyes even bigger just nodded "Uh-uh"

Once they were inside, Mikan hauled him over to the dining room, the only part of the house which had mercifully escaped damage.

"You. Explain"

"Just read the manual Polka Dots" he said, flipping over a page of his manga.

"Polka Dots?" she echoed.

He almost looked up from his manga. Was this girl really so dense?

1…2…3…4…5

"You!" shrieked Mikan "You…You pervert!"

"Hey, if you like flying into walls during explosions you should wear pants"

It was then that Mikan noticed the thing that had been driving Sumire Shouda crazy. He wasn't really wearing much except a pair of jeans.

"Um" she said, her voice at least 2 octaves higher than usual, "Where are your clothes?"

At that he finally looked up. Woah…the eyes. Pure fire. "Will you just read the freakin' manual already?"

He went back to his manga, muttering something about stupid customers and brunettes being dumber than blondes.

Still bemused, Mikan picked up the manual, getting more convinced by the second that the whole thing was a really bad dream. "Yeah, that's it," she told herself "I'm going to wake up any second and eat my breakfast fluff puffs"

She looked around for the manual but was unable to find it. She tried to recall exactly what it had said in the Accessories Section. Aha! They had mentioned that he had 2 outfits of his own that were included in the set!

She rushed out of the house to look for them but was nearly blinded by the camera flashes aimed at her the second she stepped out.

"Stop! False alarm!" cried a voice that Mikan recognized.

"Sumire? What's going on?"

"This is the official Hot Boy Watchers Club, no star, we're waiting for your hot guest to show up"

Mikan ignored the fan girl's questions about Natsume and ran towards the now charred box lying on the road. Inside were a few fragments of burnt cloth. The second Mikan picked them up, they crumbled into ashes.

"Why that…." she said, grinding her teeth.

She stalked back inside "Hyuuga!"

"Hn"

"What the hell is this?"

He glanced at her

"A demented monkey clutching half a shoe?"

"You stupid, arrogant…."

He yawned, letting her rant uninterrupted for a few minutes. His eyes glimmered with amusement though, when she started telling him all that she would like to do to him at the moment.

"…And then when your entrails are hanging next to the pigs on the Venus Flytrap, I'll…."

She stopped short and a grin which can only be described as evil spread across her features. For some reason, that grin made Natsume more uncomfortable than all her threats.

"Come on upstairs, I have some clothes that'll fit you perfectly"

Mikan dragged him upstairs before he had a chance to protest.

"No way" he choked out, the second he saw the clothes, "No way in freakin' hell"

Before long their wrestling was half way to achieving the level of fierceness usually only found in the WWE rings.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door and a gentle voice said, "I'm so sorry but I had to enter from the back as your front door was…err…inaccessible."

The door opened and a boy who looked extraordinarily like every girl's dream vision of Prince Charming walked through. His hair was blonde, slightly on the longer side and curling at the edges. His cerulean blue eyes were wide with shock.

"I'm sorry to interrupt" he said, turning a deep red and quickly shutting the door.

"No wait!" said Mikan turning to get up and tripping over Natsume.

"You!" she snarled, turning in his direction, "Put on something, any shirt that looks _decent_. Clear?"

He smirked back at her, unperturbed, "No shirt looks _decent_ on me"

Utterly infuriated, she walked out, leaving him to chuckle softly.

When she went back to the living room downstairs, she saw Ruka Nogi, the boy she'd loved practically her whole life, leaving.

"Ruka, wait!"

He turned, cheeks still a bit pink, "I didn't expect that from you Sakura-san"

"There's nothing going on between the two of us! What you saw upstairs was a fight, nothing else!"

"Really, Mikan, it's okay. I understand. Or atleast I'm trying to"

"No you don't understand!" she cried, practically in tears.

"Okay, I don't" he said placatingly, alarmed by her suspiciously glittering eyes. He prayed that she wouldn't start crying. If there was one thing that, to put it mildly, scared the shit out of Ruka, it was wailing women.

"Allow me to explain"

Natsume had entered the room. He walked over to the half smashed sofa leisurely and sat down on the undamaged side.

"There's no need" said Ruka, looking more uncomfortable than ever.

"Yes there is!" practically screamed Mikan, "Who are you? What's Narumi got to do with all this? And most importantly, why are you wearing my teddy bear's shirt?"

Natsume shrugged "None of the clothes in your cupboard were to my taste so I borrowed this from that huge teddy on your bed. By the way, aren't you a little old for teddy bears?"

"I am not! I mean…."

Ruka put a hand on Mikan's shoulder and said "Let him talk Mikan. He probably wants a chance to explain...err….whatever is going on. But first I want to know what our old teacher has to do with all this"

"Old teacher?" asked Mikan.

Ruka nodded. "Mr. Narumi used to be our elementary school teacher, remember Mikan?"

"Oh, yeah. But he left a few months after I came"

"It's understandable that you forgot all about him. After that accident most of us did our best to just forget all about elementary school and you entered pretty late anyway"

"Right" said Natsume. Mikan almost jumped. She'd almost forgotten about his presence as memories of the accident that had taken place the day after she had arrived in Alice Academy came back to her. A speeding car had killed the boy who had been assigned as her partner by their class teacher, Mr. Narumi. Mikan had been one of the several witnesses to the accident. The driver of the car had simply lost control of the vehicle and hit the little boy. He had been pretty popular, Mikan remembered. Almost the entire school, including the three principals had attended his funeral. Mikan's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to remember the boy's name…..Hyuuga….Natsume Hyuuga.

She stared disbelievingly at the robot in sitting in front of her.

"You're Natsume Hyuuga?" she asked incredulously.

"Almost"

_

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AN:_ I love giving Natsume the last word.

Thanks for the reviews everyone! I was totally overwhelmed by the amazing response and decided to write this chapter super early.

Two things that I would like to clear up:

**Is this story based on 'Absolute Boyfriend'?**

While I was inspired by Absolute Boyfriend, this story's plot will be a little different. But yes, there might be a few similarities.

**How are the Units related to the real people?**

Answered in the next chapter!

**Some review replies:**

_The Hopeless Wanderlust_: Yeah, even I was laughing while writing the credits bit for the Guide!

_kiTsUnE mEtsUkI:_ All your questions will be answered in the later chapters. Till then keep wondering….. ;)

_SeraphMia:_ Woohoo! A fellow RukaxHotaru hater! I don't like that pairing either mainly 'cause Ruka is a knight-in-shining-armour type and she's definitely not a damsel in distress. Also Ruka is very sensitive and would get hurt by Hotaru's coldness. Opposites do attract but they're a little too different.

No offense to any RukaRu fans here!

-Liz


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice**

"_You're Natsume Hyuuga?" _

"_Almost"_

Mikan tried to take a deep breath and calm down. When that didn't work, she grabbed the black haired boy's throat and screamed "Stop being so freaking mysterious!"

Ruka, who from the second Natsume Hyuuga's name had been mentioned had been staring at the wall, seemed to wake up from the reverie into which he had fallen. He cleared his throat.

"Sakura-san could you please release, uh…N-Natsume. You're choking him"

Mikan turned around to glare at him and then remembered that she was madly in love with him. She blushed bright red and dropped Natsume at once. What the hell was it that made her forget everything and just go plain insane around him?

"Sorry Ruka"

"It's fine. Natsume could you PLEASE explain what you were trying to say before Mikan …er..."

"Nearly strangled me"

"Held you" countered Ruka. Mikan shot him a grateful smile.

"Only if you promise to hold that crazy girl off"

"Sure, sure. Now explain"

"As you already know that gay teacher…" a muffled gasp from Mikan, whose skin turned an interesting shade of crimson as she shrieked "Narumi-sensei is not…" She broke off as Ruka stared at her and turned a shade of maroon so deep that it was a wonder she didn't burst.

Natsume shot her a glare and continued "...was extremely attached to all his students, especially precocious little Natsume Hyuuga. When Hyuuga died, Narumi paid another one of his students, a child prodigy named Hotaru Imai, to use her already extensive contacts and connections in the business world to set up what was then regarded as a ludicrous scheme – a robot factory. He also offered to give her 60% of any profits that the company would make. Imai's experiments were successful and the company's products became a huge hit with the super rich all over the world, who were of course the only ones who could actually afford these products. The robots that the company manufactured were based on the personality and appearance of Narumi's old students but their age depended on customer demand. He became quite rich. But there was one robot that he absolutely refused to sell"

"Which one?" asked Mikan.

"Me" he said with an even bigger smirk than before "The robotic version of what Natsume Hyuuga would have been like if he had grown up"

"Wait a second," said Mikan, "I have a few questions for you about the stuff I read in the manual. First, what's a Fire Alice?"

"A Fire Alice is one of the accessories that may be purchased with a Natsume Hyuuga Unit. However it is not a complimentary one. You will have to pay extra in order to have it install. Judging by the state of this dump you live in, there's no way you'll be able to afford it so I won't bother telling you any more about it"

"Why you….." fumed Mikan.

"Calm down Mikan. Do you have any more questions?"

"The Programming Section said that a Natsume Hyuuga Unit would have several modes. But you don't do much except sit around passing stupid comments"

"Firstly I make intelligent observations not 'stupid comments'. Second there was a booklet with programming instructions in the box. You just need glasses"

"Are there a lot of other units like you? Are you friends with any of them?" asked Ruka hurriedly. Mikan looked like she had reached her boiling point and was about to burst any second.

"My relationships with other Units have also been described in the manual. However these are the ones that commonly formed under test conditions. They were formed by the prototypes in the lab. They are not pre programmed and will develop only if I am exposed to other Units"

Mikan looked totally confused. "Err…what?"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "To dumb it down, none of those relationships have been formed yet. They might form if I come into contact with the other Units but since I've never met any of the others, I don't have any such ties yet"

Ruka sat down on a chair behind him. All this was simply too much for him to take in. Unfortunately, his weight was also too much for the chair, already weakened by the explosion that had sent it rocketing here from another room, to take. It collapsed, leaving him covered in dust and swearing under his breath.

Mikan looked around, wondering what to do now. On one hand, she had never known Natsume Hyuuga and so had no obligation towards him to force her to let him stay at her house. On the other, from the little that she had learnt about him from the other students, he had been Ruka's best friend.

"Er… Ruka?" asked Mikan tentatively.

He stopped swearing and blushed "I'm sorry Mikan, that thing" he said looking at the chair with loathing "surprised me a little"

"No that's okay" said Mikan and she blushed too "I was wondering…"

Natsume, who had been watching the two of them from above his manga rolled his gorgeous eyes. The two of them blushed so often around each other that they should just go ahead and start a blood donation bank for all that excess blood. He wouldn't have to look at Mikan's cutely flushed cheeks and a few million people in hospitals would thank them. Woah, cutely flushed? Yuck, what the hell?

Not that she had a bad figure, from his strictly objective point of view of course, she might even qualify as reasonably pretty. But that illusion would end the second she opened her mouth and began shouting in that loud, whiny voice of hers.

"Natsume? We were wondering whether you had any possessions apart from those you burnt that you wanted to take with you when you moved to Ruka's"

"Hn"

"Is that a no?"

"I'm not moving"

"Why? Is there something between you and…" Ruka shot a suspicious glance at Mikan who looked like she'd like to toss Natsume into a swamp with giant alligators.

"Read the box"

As Mikan and Ruka rushed out to check out the half burnt cardboard box that was lying forlornly on the street like an extremely soggy piece of toast, Mikan nearly got blinded. Again.

"Well he may not be as hot as the first one, but he's definitely got more charm" commented Sumire, putting her camera back in her purse.

"I thought you guys had left!"

Sumire grinned at her "Rule 1, Mikan Sakura, never trust another fan girl. Especially when the boys in question are that hot"

"I am NOT a fan girl"

"Sure and I'm definitely NOT Sumire Shouda"

"Mikan here!" yelled Ruka from between the hoard of fan girls.

She ran over at once and saw the fine print on the a piece of plastic stuck to the box "This piece is the property of the person that it was sent to i.e. the owner and his/hers to care for unless the owner…..Unless the owner does what?"

Ruka shrugged "I don't know. I can't read ashes" he said, pointing to the last heroic remains of the box's right side.

Mikan hugged him and he patted her should comfortingly "It's all right. He's a good guy"

"He's a jerk! Why me…" she moaned.

"Sakura-san. It's going to be alright. I'm sure you can handle him while we trace Narumi and figure out what to do."

He kissed her gently and left. Mikan smiled softly at his retreating back. Ruka was just so perfect. Alright then, she'd do it for him.

But as she walked back to her house alone, Mikan knew that she was in for a hell of a time.

**

* * *

Author's Ramblings**: *groan* Tell me again what other purpose do exams serve other than being a method to torture students?

Anyway, a huge THANK YOU to all my reviewers.

_Some review replies:_

_The Hopeless Wanderlust: I totally love the triangle. You'll see that I've changed the pairing in the summary. Now it just says Mikan S. Even I don't know who she's going to end with. I'm having lots of fun with MikanRuka and MikanNatsume moments though. They're both totally different guys and totally different romances but still, they're both somehow perfect._

_shainingu etowa-ru: I'd totally love to be friends with you! Thanks to all the confusion of my final exams I can't remember whether I PM-ed you or not. I'm mega-forgetful _

_Dreaming Reverie: Thanks! I'm glad you learnt such a vital 'lesson' from the last chapter ;) _

-Liz


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

'_Hell of a time' had been the perfect way to describe a day with Natsume._

Natsume and Mikan had a shouting match over the bed and finally Natsume announced that either she could sleep on the couch or on the bed next to him because no way was he sleeping on a couch. While Mikan's face turned yet another interesting shade, Natsume dumped a pillow on the bed, shut the lights and went to sleep. When Mikan started her Screaming Round 2, he just pulled the blanket over his head and turned to the other side.

Mikan stomped down the stairs, making as much noise as possible to wake him. Unfortunately, it wasn't Natsume Hyuuga but Sumire Shouda who shouted "Shut up!"

Deprived of even this last form of revenge she stayed up till midnight, plotting various forms of torture for the vile being who'd turned up at her house uninvited, made her boyfriend think that she was cheating on him, stolen her poor Teddy's shirt and finally, to top it off, kicked her out of her own bed! Oh and did she mention that he had also blown up half the house?

She'd called store where she worked earlier to request a day off. Luckily for her the boss was out and Kokoryome, a cheerful guy who'd gone to Alice Academy with her was in charge. When she presented her feeble old 'I've got a cold' excuse he suggested that she take the day off so enthusiastically that Mikan wondered whether the store's grapevine had been busy again. Her suspicions were confirmed when Sumire winked at her before leaving for her shift at the store and told her in a stage whisper that she'd arranged everything. Mikan prayed that Sumire's 'preparations' had been restricted to arranging the day off for her.

Mikan had then dragged herself up from the couch on which she'd spent the night and rubbed the irritating crick in her neck. "Natsume may be Ruka's best friend but he's NOTHING like him" she thought resentfully.

"Oye! Wake up!" said Mikan, kicking Natsume.

Unfortunately for her, her foot got entangled in the bedside lamp's wire and she went crashing down on the bed, right on top of him.

"If you were that desperate you should have said something last night, I wouldn't have minded" said a lazily amused voice.

Face flaming, Mikan got up and said "Right. We need to establish some ground rules right now"

"Hn"

"First, you will stop acting like a perverted old grandfather"

"Your grandfather's perverted?"

"No! Second rule, you will try to be nice"

"I am nice. I simply ooze niceness. All those girls yesterday definitely thought so"

"No they didn't. They just thought that you were hot"

"Really? How'd you know that? Mind reading abilities? Or did you share their sentiments?"

Blushing an angry red, Mikan valiantly countered "It was Sumire Shouda's group. They're not really that incredibly hard to read"

A raised eyebrow was enough to communicate his disbelief.

"Breakfast Time" she said, leaving the room abruptly.

"He is totally not hot! Ruka is way better looking than him!"

But as Mikan looked at the boy sitting in her kitchen, drinking the tea she'd made, she couldn't really agree with herself.

Weird state of affairs? Definitely.

Then again, he wasn't exactly making it any easier. Why did Natsume have to yawn and stretch like that? It made his already ill fitting shirt's buttons loosen, leaving too much, in Mikan's opinion, exposed.

"Could robots have six packs?" Mikan wondered and instantly felt contrite. She reminded herself of her gorgeous boyfriend.

This was a really bad move. Now she couldn't help compare the two of them. Ruka was definitely every bit as handsome as Natsume but other than the fact that they both belonged to the male branch of the species Homo sapiens, they had absolutely nothing in common. Ruka's expression was always friendly, open, the kind of face that anyone could instantly trust and like. Natsume's, on the other hand, was more forbidding than a No Entry signboard in an abandoned factory.

And the biggest point of difference, Mikan told herself was that Ruka was perfect for her and Natsume was not!

"Come on"

"Where?" asked Mikan, startled. Surely he didn't want to go out and strike a pose for the fan girl camps outside?

"Clothes"

"What?"

"I can't go around wearing a freaking Teddy's shirt and I'm definitely not borrowing your polka dotted underwear."

"Oh"

"Now can we leave?"

She nodded and ran upstairs to get dressed. Natsume was waiting for her impatiently and the second she got out of the room dragged her out through the back door.

"Keys?"

Mikan handed him her car's keys.

"This crap?" he asked, pointing towards her beat up old truck with a totally disgusted expression.

"Hey! That truck is vintage!"

"No it isn't. It's a bunch of screws held together with prayers"

She'd huffed and refused to talk to him anymore which suited him perfectly. Natsume could now observe the screeching, whining, sulking, incurable optimist he was going to stay with. She was a mass of so many contradictions. And all her emotions played out on her expressive face.

Natsume turned to look at her and saw that her face was still resolutely turned away from him. Did she have any idea how childish that looked?

The truck's open top meant that the wind was making her mass of auburn hair fly around her. Mikan pushed some of it back with her hand and heard an "Ow!"

She didn't really hear any more after that. That's because the car banged into a streetlight and she passed out.

* * *

"Great" she muttered "Just freaking great"

"Is something the matter?" asked the policeman standing next to her car.

"Oh no, officer" she said, smiling as sweetly as she could at him.

"Now, car crash due to being poked in the eye by hair. Hmmm….I don't think we've got any precedents for that"

Mikan glared at Natsume, who was standing next to the policeman. Trust him to invent a crime that was so ludicrous that even her insurance people would never buy it.

"Right, now your names are? I'll go back to the station and check the records. Meanwhile I'd like your names, contact details and driving license"

Furiously, Mikan dug around in her bag for her license. Just after the crash happened, Natsume had shifted her over to the driver's seat to avoid questions since he didn't actually have a driving license yet. So now she was losing her license when she hadn't even done anything! Except trust a moron with her precious truck. 'Bunch of screws held together by prayers' Hmph! The only loose screw had been the idiot driving!

As the policeman drove away, Mikan said "If I don't get my license back, I'll…"

"Here" he said tossing it back at her.

"How…wait…….what?"

"Your driving license. Now get your fat butt off the driver's seat"

"First, I am NEVER letting you drive my car again. Second, how did you get my license? I gave the policeman the real one and he checked it too!"

"I am driving the car because I hate being driven and I got your license off the cop when he wasn't looking"

"You picked a policeman's pocket?"

Natsume sat down in the passenger's seat with a resigned expression.

"Hn"

"You're lying! I never even saw you do it!"

Now it was his turn to glare. "Shut up. Or get a Persona Death Dude Unit to show you how to do that"

"But why would another Unit teach you to do something like that?"

"Store's here" he said and got off the car when she hadn't even stopped.

"By the way," said Natsume, turning 'I'm driving on our way back"

* * *

Mikan looked at her credit card, teary-eyed. "Goodbye" she thought.

"Stop looking like you're at a funeral Polka"

She glared at him "What else am I supposed to do? You've spent so much that I won't be able to pay the bank and then they'll take away my credit card and then…."

"…and then we'll get another one. Big deal"

"It is a big deal! That was my first ever credit card! I was planning on buying Ruka a present with that!"

"Hn"

"Go back to your stupid grunting mode, Neanderthal"

"Shut up Polka"

Mikan looked at her watch. Noon. Half a day in hell left.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like ages of wandering through racks, avoiding over eager salesgirls who seemed drawn to Natsume like magnets, they finished shopping.

"Now what?" asked Mikan, dumping all his shopping bags in her car.

"Hn"

She turned around to face Natsume, glaring, with her hands on her hips "The word 'Hn' which isn't even a word by the way, is banned while you're living under my roof! Banned, forbidden, not allowed, prohibited, get it?"

She stopped when she noticed that he wasn't even looking her way. Standing on her toes to peek over his shoulder, she nearly exploded with rage when she saw who he was staring at – Koizumi Luna, her arch rival and co worker at the store.

So Mikan did what any other mature woman (whose male companion, even if he wasn't her boyfriend was staring at her rival) would have done. She punched him.

Unfortunately for her Natsume was hard. Metal hard.

"Stupid robots with stupid metals and stupid strength" she muttered, nursing her swelling knuckles.

She looked up and saw that Natsume was still staring at Luna.

"Hey! The least you can do is stop staring!"

Finally he turned "Huh?"

"Can't you stop staring at that girl, you're acting like a perverted old…"

Natsume just stared at Mikan for a minute. Fighting to keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks she said irritably "What?"

He just looked in the same direction again. Luna had moved away from the spot and Mikan read the huge poster on the wall. "Concert in Linkin Park….oh" she said turning tomato red.

Natsume looked at her again, smirking "Was someone feeling jealous?"

"Me? Jealous of that overfilled hourglass? As if"

She opened the door and sat down in the passenger's seat "You better not wreck my car this time"

He was still wearing that exasperating smirk on his face.

"Are you getting in here or should I drive?"

"Actually I was wondering if we could go to this concert"

Mikan read the details on the poster and shook her head. "I don't think so. It's a very popular hard rock band and I'm not really into that genre. I prefer country music"

He snorted "Figures. Country music is for cows, sheep and pigs"

"No it's not…….wait a minute, are you suggesting that I'm a cow?"

"You said it, not me"

Natsume leaned against the streetlight behind him. He was enjoying himself. Another few minutes and she'd be frothing with rage.

"I want to see this concert so we're going"

Mikan folded her arms against her chest "No, we're not. We're going back home. Final offer, get in the car or walk home"

He shrugged and got in.

On the drive back home, he was unusually quiet. Mikan was worried till she got a good look at his face using the lights on one of the stores they passed as illumination. His flawless profile looked almost….sulky? She couldn't resist teasing him a little about it

"Aw….iz d liddle baby angrwy?"  
"Shut up"

"I'm sho shworry"

"Don't try to make yourself sound stupider than you already are"

"Hmph"

Mikan turned her face away from him and rolled down the window, remembering to tie her hair first.

Soon the ancient car groaned and halted, sending up a cloud of smoke.

"We're here" he announced.

"You can carry the bags" she said, walking towards the house.

"Hey! Damn it, what the….." he cursed as the contents of one of the packages spilled out on the road.

"Language" said Mikan primly and unlocked the door. She blinked and closed the door. Number 240, read the golden letters on the door. She checked her keychain. Number 240. She took a deep breath and opened the door again. The room within seemed even worse than it had the first time.

Most of the furniture had been repaired and an old love seat she remembered seeing in Mochu's garage sale was propped up against a wall, facing the television. In front of it was a small table that appeared to have emerged almost unscathed from Natsume's explosive arrival, with the exception of a small scorch mark on the left. Two scented candles and a small vase with a single rose in it had been placed on it. Soft music was playing on a radio hidden behind the love seat and cushions were scattered all over the floor.

Mikan rushed in and quickly locked the door behind her. She could hear Natsume cursing and demanding to let in before 'all theses freakin' packs bury me'

Fearing the worst she went up to her bedroom and taking one look at the place, closed her eyes in acute anguish. Damn Permy!

Her bedroom looked like a set from a B grade Arabian Nights movie. The bed was done up in silky sheets that Mikan knew belonged to Anna and there were flower petals scattered all over. Nonoko's favorite scented candles cast a soft glow all over the room. Mikan opened her cupboard with shaking hands. Hands that had to hold her head, which felt too heavy for her neck to bear alone, a second later. Yep, Sumire had been her usual thorough self. A flaming red negligee was hanging in her closet. Through its transparent folds she could see a note from her tormentor.

_'Best of luck with the hunk! I told you you needed some excitement! Go girl!_

_;)_

_XOXO_

_Sumire'_

Did Sumire just forget about Ruka's existence? What excuse did the rest of the gang give him while those traitors were planning this out with Sumire?

She went down to the kitchen, the one part of the house that had mercifully been left untouched by her so-called friends and phoned Sumire.

"Hello Mikan! I would have thought you'd be too busy to call me today evening!"

"You thought? You made sure!"

"By the way, where's the hunk?"

"Stop calling him the hunk, he's not even remotely near the word good looking"

"But of course. Guys like him are _bad_ looking"

"Permy, I want you, Anna and Nonoko to clear this up right now!"

There was a gasp and "See? I told you she'd guess!" in the background

"Actually it's just Anna and me in here. Nonoko's gone to visit relatives. She won't be back in town till tomorrow morning"

"Get here and clean up this mess! What were you two thinking? Did you think Ruka got sucked into a black hole or something?"

On the other side of the phone line, Sumire hesitated. Anna gave her an encouraging thumbs up and she took a deep breath and said "Look Mikan, Anna and I have been thinking, for some time now, that Ruka….well, he's all wrong for you"

Mikan didn't reply.

"I know he's nice and gentle and you've had a crush on him since our days in the Academy but he's not the only guy in the universe! Sure your relationship's sweet and steady right now but in a few years it'll just degenerate to plain boring. Both of you are too sweet to dump anyone so you'll both just…..I mean, damn, I don't really know how to say Mikan this but this relationship you have with Ruka? It just doesn't seem to me like either of you is really in love. Like definitely. Friends definitely. But there's just no spark between the two of you"

Mikan's brain had jammed up. "I'll distract Natsume, you guys clean up"

She slammed the phone down before Sumire could say anything else. Her brain felt as mushy as the horrible peanut butter jelly that Koko had once made.

She opened the door just as Natsume was about to blast it open.

"What in hell were you doing in there?" he snarled, trying to push past her and keep the bags from balanced at the same time.

"C'mon. We're going to the concert"

"Finally the moment you've all been waiting for is here! Presenting…………….Hannah Montana"

"Err….I think we made a wrong turn somewhere"

* * *

Petrol Wasted: A few dollars worth

Possibility of reaching the right concert on time: If they invested a few million in a private jet, high. If not, nada

The look on Natsume's face when the announcer said that Hannah Montana was coming on stage and he was trampled on by hoards of tween girls: Priceless

There are some things that money can't buy, for everything else, there's _Fate_

* * *

"Let's go home" he growled.

"No wait!" said Mikan, trying to think of an excuse to stay out a little longer. Anna and Sumire wouldn't have finished cleaning up so early.

"What?"

"Let's go out for dinner! My treat!"

"No"

"You're turning down free food?"

"With your taste we'd wind up at Fluff Puff Unlimited"

"What's wrong with Fluff Puff Unlimited? The store's owner is a very nice man and he gives me discounts all the time"

"Possibly because you single handedly take care of his monthly profits"

"I do not! Anna likes Fluff Puff's too!"

"Hn"

"Back in grunting mode. Don't you have a button I can use to permanently disable it?"

"Read the User's Guide"

"How can I? You burnt it!"

"Hn"

"Aargh!"

"Aargh? Who's being inarticulate now?"

"Shut up"

"Such eloquence"

"Just get in the car. We'll eat at the first restaurant that comes along."

Natsume put the keys in the ignition and the dinosaur creaked up again. After 15 more minutes of sulky car silence on Mikan's part and the humming of a tune that sounded suspiciously like Stupid Girls on Natsume's end, they passed a take away pizza parlor. Natsume pulled over at once. Although he would never admit it he was as hungry as Mikan, though thankfully his stomach wasn't as loud in its complaints.

"Finally! I'd like a double cheese pizza, potato wedges and an iced tea"

"What about a stomach pump? Are you sure you don't want one of those too?"

"This grouchy guy next to me will have a pepperoni pizza"

"No he will not!"

"Why are you talking about yourself in third person?"

"……"

"Great! That'll be all!"

"But I don't want to eat pepperoni pizza!"

"Geez, just give the baby his candy instead"

"Just make that cheese pizza a large one"

"I'm not sharing my pizza with you!"

"Shut up"

They finally got their pizzas and drove away, leaving a relieved girl behind the counter.

"Nuts" she thought, shaking her head.

"There's a playground here. It'll be deserted at this time. We can eat there"

Natsume parked the car, grateful for the racket it was making. The noise masked his stomach's growling, which had been growing more and more persistent.

They sat down on the edge of the sandpit and began to dig in. Finally there was just one last slice of pizza left.

It proudly sat there, in the stained cardboard box, a tiny, greasy piece of take away pizza, with more sauce than cheese on it.

"Mine"

"Mine"

"Three quarter"

"Half"

"Done"

And so a deal was struck. They broke the slice in half and started eating it. After demolishing her slice Mikan accused Natsume "You took the bigger piece!"

A bit of pizza was still left in his hand. As Mikan attacked for the concluding battle of the Pizza Wars he smirked and swallowed it. With all her usual clumsiness, Mikan tripped over the pizza box and landed right on top of Natsume.

Silence.

They could hear the crickets chirping in the background, a car's horn and a man yelling angrily about bad neighbors. But all those things sounded far away, in a different universe.

They kissed.

**

* * *

****Author's Ramblings: **Couldn't resist the dumb Linkin Park pun**……**

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys made my day :)

_Review Replies:_

_bleach and alice academy lover: Sorry, there's no way I can bring the 'real' Natsume back to life in this story. However I can guarantee that the robot Natsume will be as good as the 'real' one!_

_foxtrotelly: Thanks! I had a lot of fun writing those metaphors so I'm glad you enjoyed them XD _

To all you Ruka fans out there, he's not out of the contest yet! Watch out for him next chapter!

Finally, review please?

- Liz


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: I've consolidated the last two chapters into one. Sorry for any confusion!_

**Chapter 6 **

Mikan pinched the bridge of her nose. Then she remembered that Natsume did the same thing whenever he was irritated and sighed and massaged her forehead instead. Life sucked.

Natsume (Grr....just thinking about him made her want to rip something) was upstairs, no doubt peacefully asleep on what was supposed to be her bed while she was tossing and turning on the irritatingly hard couch. Damn, if she'd just stuck out for a few seconds longer maybe she would have been the one comfortably sleeping on a mattress.

The ride back home had been awkward, at least for her. He had been humming a tune, looking totally nonchalant and carefree. Of course he was relaxed, she thought furiously, he hadn't cheated on his utterly fantabulous boyfriend had he?

Mikan giggled. The idea of Natsume having a boyfriend……..

Focus, she reminded herself sternly, focus on how to keep his big, fat mouth shut. Not to mention your own.

She tried the deep breathing calming technique Sumire's therapist had once told her about. Within seconds, she was asleep and snoring……………..

* * *

Damn that therapist, thought Mikan furiously, may she rot in hell with caterpillars nibbling those perfectly painted toes of hers!

Mikan had woken up late the next morning to find her Mr. BearTM alarm clock ringing frantically and a messily scrawled note saying

_Your friend Sumire called. Since her cooking abilities can't be any worse than your slop I'm going to her house for breakfast_

_N_

Damn that therapist once again. Hell was too good for her. She should go to that place in Mochu's Bleach manga…..what was it called again? Hueco Mundo.

Now she had no idea whether Natsume would spill, how she would react if he did, how she should react if he didn't, whether Ruka had found out – the list of questions was endless.

Knocking the Mr. BearTM alarm clock on the table to shut it, Mikan crossed all her fingers and toes, praying that Mother Earth would just split open and swallow Natsume

"Hi Mikan!"

Mikan winced and turned around warily "Morning Sumire"

"So how was your big date?"

"What date?"

"Oh c'mon, the one with the mysterious raven haired hottie"

"His name's Natsume"

"Aha! You think he's hot too!"

"Do not!"

"Then why did you immediately think of him when I said hottie?"

Mikan's face flushed and she quickened her pace. Why was the usually short, pleasant walk to work taking so irritatingly long today?

"Soo….spill Mikan. Date. Hottie. Details. NOW."

"There was no date! We just ate some take away pizza and came back home"

Sumire's face displayed her disappointment clearly.

"No shagging?"

"Ew no!"

"Not even a goodbye peck on the cheek?" she almost begged pleadingly.

"Nope"

"I'm a failure!"

"Huh?"

"If in all our years together you still haven't learnt what to do when you're alone with a gorgeous specimen of mankind, I must be the world' worst teacher!" cried Sumire, waving her arms dramatically.

"Hey! Watch it! You almost took my eye out!"

The two girls walked in silence for a while.

"Wait a second, when did you become a teacher? I thought you were a cashier"

"Density is thy name Mikan Sakura and obliviousness thy fate" proclaimed Sumire with a sigh.

* * *

Finally they reached the store where they both worked. 'Al's Everything' was one of those convenience stores that are tucked away in almost every small town and seem to store, well, everything. It was a fairly big store and saw good business, especially on weekends when the heat drew people from all over town to their well known ice cream section which boasted of flavors ranging from the ordinary Vanilla to the exotic Pepper and Mint combo. On those days, young couples fed each other ice cream while holding hands, little kids screamed at the servers to put XXL scoops in their cones and the staff worked overtime to wipe melted ice cream off the floor.

Mikan smiled happily, glad that it was Monday and the Mad Weekend Rush was over and she had missed most of it. She now had 5 days of leisurely can stocking and chatting by the coffee machine to look forward to. Or so she hoped.

"Hey Sakura!"

"Morning Mikan, Sumire"

"Hey guys!"

"Yo 'Mire"

Sumire turned around to glare at the grinning boy who had uttered the last greeting.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. Mire"

The boy winked, completely unrepentant and bowed with mock contrition. Sumire's face had already reached an indescribable reddish hue when he added "See ya 'round Mire" and walked off, whistling something that sounded suspiciously like Stupid Girls.

"Does he even know how totally out 'Yo' is? Only idiotic preteens still use that one!" huffed Sumire.

Mikan opened her mouth to respond but the words shriveled up and died in her throat as she heard a familiar voice say "You look beautiful today Mikan"

"R-Ruka! You're early today" she stuttered blushing uncontrollably. _I should just go ahead and write Ways To Betray Your Guilt 101 instead._

"Well yes, tomorrow is a very special day and I just wanted to make some arrangements"

That was odd. The usually calm and composed Ruka looked extremely nervous and worried today. What was wrong?

"Are you feeling all right Ruka? You look a bit pale toda…."

"Heyya Ruka! Been so long! You don't hang around here anymore! Losing interest in our Mikan?"

Ruka turned at the sound of Mochu's voice and joked "I was hoping to avoid running into a certain idiot whose name starts with an M"

"Hear that Mikan? He was avoiding you! I smell a fishy rat around here…….."

"You're going to be smelling your own blood if you don't go away"

"If you're about to fight get out of here, I just finished cleaning up" interrupted Nonoko.

"Hey Nonoko" said Ruka easily "We solemnly swear not to break anything. Except each other's bones"

"If you do break anything Mochu better clean it up. He's skipped cleaning duty twice this week. Why can't you ever turn up on your shifts with me? I know you don't like me but believe me, the feeling is mutual so I'm hardly going to proclaim my undying love for you while we're dusting the shelves"

Both Ruka and Mikan winced. This was an unusually forthright speech from the rather shy Nonoko and there was no mistaking the irritation in her voice.

Mochu mumbled something about work and practically fled the scene. Ruka gave him a sympathetic look and went after him. Mikan stared at their rapidly retreating backs, confused. Nonoko sniffed disapprovingly and got back to work.

"Hey Mikan, mind moving to that side, near the door? I need to clean this area up"

"Sure. Want some help?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Go chat with loverboy"

Mikan blinked, puzzled.

"But Ruka just went that way……"

"Polka"

Mikan internally groaned. That voice. Why did the gods hate her so much?

Natsume was standing at the store's entrance, his hair mussed up as usual and hints of dark circles under his eyes.

Hmm…maybe she wasn't the only one feeling guilty. The thought made Mikan feel slightly better.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Huh?"

"What am I supposed to do while you're working here? There's no one home and you locked the door. So give me the keys"

"Try baking"

"Keys"

"That apron would be perfect for you" said Mikan, pointing towards an old fluffy pink nightmare that the store had never been able to persuade anyone, even their most gullible customer, to buy.

"It looks like the love child of a chick flick and really messy car accident"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you a really twisted mind and the weirdest imagination on Planet Earth?"

"I'm sure someone must have told you you're an idiot"

Sumire took out her purse and handed a grinning Nonoko some money.

"I told you they'd have their first lover's quarrel before noon. Their chemistry is just so _passionately volatile"_

Both the 'passionately volatile' individuals looked at Nonoko incredulously.

"What did you say?"

However before Nonoko could reply the door opened yet again and Jinno, the store's owner entered.

"Why are all of you loitering around here? Get to work!"

"Yessir!" chorused Sumire and Nonoko before scampering away.

"Are you the new delivery boy from the agency?" snapped Jinno, glaring at Natsume.

He wouldn't, thought Mikan horrified. Even the Devil himself wasn't punished this harshly by the gods.

Natsume smirked devilishly and said slowly, enunciating each word clearly and enjoying himself more and more with each syllable "Yes"

"Then report to Kokoryome! You're going to start work tomorrow and I refuse to pay you for being lazy"

Mikan stood rooted to the spot. No way. Bad dream go away, sunshine come this way, she prayed. Thunder boomed outside the window.

"Looks like we're going to have a downpour today" remarked Jinno, looking outside.

"See you around" whispered Natsume in Mikan's ear before walking away, whistling.

"Sakura! Get to work instead of standing there like the dolt you are"

_Item: Lovely Day – No.s:1 – Status: Order cancelled. This product is no longer available in the catalogue of Mikan Sakura's Life. It has been replaced by a Natsume Hyuuga Unit_

* * *

"It's perfect Ruka!" beamed Anna

"You think so? How about that one?" questioned Ruka, pointing to another ring, in which diamonds and sapphires set in a beautiful pattern .

Anna shook her head, "That's a little too much for Mikan."

"Price isn't an issue."

"What I meant was that that one is too ornate. Mikan will feel uncomfortable."

"Alright then, we'll take that one."

As they paid the bill Ruka said "You have no idea how grateful I am, Anna."

"I had fun. I spent all weekend shopping and someone else paid the bills. Do you know how many women would kill for that to happen to them?"

"Are you sure Mikan doesn't know?" he asked anxiously.

"I told everyone, including Nonoko that I was visiting some relatives. There's no way Mikan could have found out."

"Well yeah but I just felt a little….."

"Paranoid? Apprehensive? Fretful? Scared out of your wits? Save those emotions Ruka, you'll need them all tomorrow"

"Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

"I am. No woman likes her man too confident when he's proposing. We enjoy seeing you quake."

"Sadists."

They laughed and moved on to the next shop. There was a lot more to be done.

* * *

Mikan slammed the last drawer shut and sneezed as dust particles flew up. She hated doing paperwork which was precisely why the evil Jinno always handed it over to her to finish and sort. For goodness's sake this was the 21st century! When would Jinno finally buy a new computer and embrace the technological revolution? Besides Maths had never really been one of her strong points and it always took her ages to match the accounts. She indulged herself with a pleasant daydream involving Jinno being strangled by irate customer screaming "You cheated us out of our money by deliberately assigning a self confessed Maths Moron accounts!" while environmentalists dressed in green robes proclaimed "Wasting paper is the 8th Sin! Return the lost trees!"

By the time the clock struck the fateful hour proclaiming her shift's end, Mikan was utterly exhausted. She had handed Natsume her house's keys that afternoon and he had taken them, nodded curtly and disappeared for the rest of the day.

Mikan hoped that he would be asleep when she got home. She grabbed an old umbrella from one of the less frequented storerooms and hoped no one would notice. It was pouring outside and just the thought of walking into that thunderstorm was making her shiver.

She opened up the umbrella and began the short walk home. She rarely used her car to reach the store since it was within comfortable walking distance of her house.

Within minutes, Mikan was wet, cold and thoroughly miserable. The stupid old umbrella leaked and no amount of intensive cleaning would enable her shoes to recover from the thorough splashing they had received.

When she finally reached home, Mikan found the living room deserted.

_Tring-tring!_

"Hello?"

"Mikan? It's me, Ruka."

"Wannaspenthedaywidmetomorrow?"

"Sorry?"

He exhaled sharply and didn't reply.

"Are you alright Ruka?" asked Mikan, concerned.

"Just peachy." he mumbled.

"Is there a problem with the network on your mobile? I can't really hear you."

On the other end, Anna gave Ruka an encouraging thumbs-up.

"I was wondering....I wanted to ask you... can we go on a date tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure Jin-Jin'll let me off early. I've already taken a day off this month."

"We've already spoken to him."

"We?"

There was a muffled sound on the other end. Anna had just smacked Ruka. "You idiot! You weren't supposed to mention that!" she hissed.

"I meant I."

"Huh?"

"Erm…what I meant is, I'll take care of everything."

Mikan smiled softly. This was the Ruka she knew and loved. The proverbial Prince Charming, straight out of the pages of a fairytale, who rode up and took care of everything.

Her knight in shining armor was perfect.

Then why did her mind suddenly fly back to the previous night, when a loser in tin foil had kissed her?

Damn.

_

* * *

__Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Your reviews meant a lot to me!_

_I'm sorry that I haven't been sending out review replies to everyone. I'll be doing so for this chapter, so if you have any suggestions/questions, fire away!_

_- Liz _


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't...Bah. Is this really necessary?**

_

* * *

Mikan was a princess, wearing an ethereal gown of white silk. Her hair streamed behind her as she ran towards the man she loved. Her knight stood under the Sakura tree, his blue eyes lighting up when he saw her. His armor gleamed in the early morning sunlight as he whispered, "Mikan, I love you"_

_Mikan let out a small, contented sigh as she rested her head on his shoulders. _

"_Do we have to do this at fucking five in the morning?"_

_She shrieked, horrified. Another man stood there, wearing a tin foil suit and holding a cardboard sword. _

"_This is so goddamn dumb" he said, exasperated. He took off his helmet to reveal his crimson eyes and ran his hand through his already messy raven hair._

"You stupid mutt! You peed on my newspaper!"

The problem with being a princess living in a city was that on the day of your big date with your true love, you weren't exactly woken up by the chirping birds on your windowsill. The only wake up call you got, as Mikan Sakura discovered, was Sumire screaming at a stray dog.

Mikan sat up on her couch, groggily shaking her head to clear away all memories of her nightmare. She grabbed her Mr. Bear TM alarm clock and checked the time.

5 AM?

She rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

By the time Mikan woke up again, it was already noon. Since Anna had promised to take care of everything at the store for her, she didn't bother calling Jin-Jin to explain her absence. Anna, thanks to her awesome cooking abilities, was always in Jinno's good books. Any excuse she made up would be accepted by him, provided it was accompanied by a batch of her blueberry muffins.

Mikan went up to her bedroom, humming happily to herself as she thought of her date with Ruka that evening.

"And since Natusme will be at work today, I'll be able to relax all day!" she thought, her smile growing even brighter.

"Is it Christmas already, Polka?"

She screamed. Natsume was sitting on her bed, reading a manga and sipping a drink.

"Natsume! Aren't you supposed to be working today?"

"Koko and I went out for drinks yesterday night and he forgot to show me the stuff he was supposed to. He said he'll show me around today evening after the store closes. I'll be joining work from tomorrow. Poor guy, I don't envy him much right now. In addition to his hangover he has that Frog Guy shouting at him about responsibility"

"That was so utterly irresponsible of both of you!"

"Are you related to Frog Guy? It would explain a lot about your looks"

"Shut up!"

Natusme winced. "For god's sake woman, stop screeching! You're like a foghorn!"

"Do you have a hangover too?"

"Thanks for noticing. What gave me away? The pale face, the dark circles or the hoarse voice?"

Mikan banged the door shut and went down to the kitchen, her good mood utterly ruined. She picked up her cordless and called Ruka.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ruka, just called to ask you about our date. Where are we going?"

"I'm sorry, Mikan. Something really important has come up. Would you mind if I picked you up at 7 pm instead of the time we'd planned earlier?"

Mikan internally groaned. Seven hours with Natsume? She would be locked up in a straitjacket before the sun set.

"Seven's fine, Ruka"

"Great! I want the place to be a surprise though. So I'll see you tonight, then. Love you, Mikan"

"I love you too, Ruka. Bye!"

Mikan smiled softly and kept the phone down, thinking about what to wear in the evening.

Suddenly she heard someone shout and jumped, startled.

"Oye Polka! Haven't you got any tomato juice for hangovers?"

Damn it, why did Natsume seem so determined to ruin every pleasant moment of her life?

"Go get the goddamn juice from the store. And stop calling me by that stupid nickname. It makes you seem dumber than you already are"

"Good one"

"Good one?" thought Mikan, perplexed, "Natsume actually conceded a point in our verbal sparring match? Has he magically been converted into a Mr. Nice Guy?"

"There's still a good carton of juice in one of the back shelves"

"Well, there goes my fantasy" she thought, as her daydreams of a polite Natsume popped and burst like old balloons.

"Natsume, did you pick up the paper on your way out in the morning?"

There was no reply.

"Natsume!"

"What?"

"The newspaper!"

"Pick it up on your own, old lady!"

"He seems to grow more obnoxious with every passing second!" thought Mikan angrily. She opened her front door to pick up the paper and was surprised to see a small, dark brown puppy sitting on it.

"Aww…." she cooed, "Aren't you adorable? Where's your owner?"

She looked around to see if there was anyone standing nearby but the street was deserted. Mikan scooped the puppy up and took in into her living room. Just as she placed it on her sofa, Natsume walked down the stairs, saying "Don't you have any…What the hell is that thing, Polka?"

"Isn't he adorable?"

"He looks more like a walking bag of fleas. Where did you pick him up from?"

"I just found him sitting on my doorstep. And he does not have fleas"

As if to contradict her statement, the dog raised a leg and began to scratch itself. Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, maybe it does have a few fleas. Just one or two measly fleas don't matter"

"Keep telling yourself that when a few of those 'measly fleas' decided to leave the pup and settle on you instead"

"I'm going to give it a bath and then my little doggy won't have any fleas! Satisfied?"

"Hn"

"Idiot"

Mikan half filled her tub with water and began to collect soap, towels, etc. When everything was finally ready, she picked the dog up and put him in the tub.

One of the first things that every dog care book on earth tells its readers is that dogs hate water. They absolutely loathe it and all attempts to bathe them must be undertaken outdoors.

Unfortunately, Mikan had never owned a pet in her life and so was unaware of this cardinal rule.

The second the dog came into contact with the water he went crazy. He scratched Mikan and she dropped him with a small shriek. He fell into the tub full of soapy water and jumped out, running out of the bathroom while still covered in bubbles and soap.

Mikan stood up to follow it and slipped over a large puddle of soapy water. She fell into the bathtub with a bang.

Meanwhile the dog knocked into Natsume, who was carrying a glass of tomato juice. Natsume dropped the glass and the dog paused for a second to sniff the concoction that was spread all the carpet. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell and ran on, towards Mikan's kitchen.

Natsume took one look at the small brown bullet whizzing past him and entered the bathroom. He grinned appreciatively as he took in the havoc the puppy had wrought.

Mikan stood in front of the sink, squeezing water out of her hair. She was covered in foam and cursing under her breath.

"Having fun with your new pet?"

"Stop making stupid remarks and help me catch the damn bugger!"

"Foul language from a girl who was scolding me for swearing yesterday?"

"We need to catch that dog!"

"Why? I'm enjoying the chaos"

"Because you'll be the one sleeping on the bed that he's probably peeing on right now"

"That little…"

"Exactly"

They rushed out. Mikan searched the left side of the house while Natsume covered the right. Out of breath and (in Natsume's case) patience, they sat down on the first step of the staircase.

"Why did you pick up that furry little fiend in the first place?" asked Natsume, glaring.

"It looked cute" replied Mikan, pouting.

"I hope Ruka knows what he's getting into" he muttered. She punched him playfully in the arm.

"Hey! I heard that!"

"Poor Ruka. You don't need a boyfriend; you need a guardian to keep you out of trouble"

"C'mon! We still haven't checked the bedroom"

As Mikan ran up the stairs like an excited child, Natsume watched her go with a small smile on his lips.

"Mikan Sakura, you are one interesting girl" he said softly.

"Why aren't you coming up to help, you lazy pig!"

* * *

"This is the millionth time that Mochu skipped his shift with me! Do I have the plague or something?" complained Nonoko, exasperated.

Anna shrugged as she listened to her furious friend's tirade.

"Anna! You're supposed to be my best friend! Do something!" cried Nonoko, grabbing her best friend by the shoulders.

"What?" asked Anna, unaffected by her dramatics.

"Something!"

"How wonderfully eloquent"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of breaking china and a scream.

"Want to go watch the great Sumire – Koko show?" suggested Anna, hoping to distract Nonoko.

As they up to the to the crockery section, Sumire's screams grew louder, "Careless, irresponsible, clumsy, foolish…"

"Do you ever think they'll realize that they love each other?" sighed Nonoko.

"I'm sure they will. But it'll take a century and several grandkids before they finally accept it" answered Anna.

"Their bantering reminds me of Mikan and Natsume"

"Natsume who?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Mikan met this incredibly hot guy over the weekend and….." Nonoko quickly filled Anna in on all she knew. She also confided that she and Sumire had a bet going on how long it would be before they were together.

"This is ridiculous! Mikan and Ruka are perfect for each other!"

"Want to bet on that?"

Their faces split into scarily identical grins.

"Love Lottery!"

* * *

"We've been searching for almost an hour now," said Mikan, exasperated, "Where is that fur ball?"

She and Natsume were still looking for the missing puppy. They had searched her house as thoroughly as they could and even checked out on the street. The only place left was Mikan's bedroom.

Natsume leaned against the cupboard and said irritably, "Can't we just let that dumb dog rot?"

Mikan kneeled down next to the bed and said, "We still haven't checked under the bed. He could be hiding there"

Natsume rifled through his pockets and produced a soggy, old, half eaten biscuit. "Maybe this will tempt him," he said.

"You've got to be kidding me," scoffed Mikan. "That thing wouldn't tempt a starved ant!"

"It's better than anything you've come up with so far," retorted Natsume, walking over to the bed.

Just then the hungry puppy, who hadn't eaten anything since the previous evening, smelled the ancient food outside and decided that it was worth making a run for. Whatever it was definitely didn't smell good, even from a starved little dog's perspective but as long as it was edible, he didn't care.

He bolted in the direction the smell was coming from and crashed into Natsume, who was still standing. Natsume lost his balance and fell, dropping the biscuit. With a triumphant bark, the dog grabbed the biscuit and ran downstairs, leaving behind two extremely uncomfortable people.

Mikan had turned around as Natsume approached and he had fallen directly on top of her, pushing both of them into a very awkward position against her bedside table.

For a second, they locked eyes. Intoxicating crimson met soft amber. As she stared at them, all thoughts of Ruka flew out of Mikan's head. She blushed and looked away. Natsume's body felt strange next to hers. Its temperature was slightly lower than a human's and his chest felt unusually hard next to her soft skin. Mikan wasn't sure whether this was because of muscles or metal that made it.

"Well looks like it worked," he said softly. His hand brushed against hers as he stood up and she felt a small tingle spread through her.

"Think of an electric toaster, Mikan" she told herself sternly, "Metal and will give you a huge, sharp shock if you get too close!"

But then she looked up and for the second time that day, her thoughts scattered as she took in his expression. For the first time since she had met him, Natsume grinned. His eyes lit up with amusement and he reminded her of a mischievous little boy planning to prank someone.

* * *

"Some are born simply to love each other, some fall in love and some have love thrust upon them" declared Nonoko

"Is that one supposed to be about greatness, not love?" asked Sumire.

"Shaddup"

"I thought so"

"Shakespeare must be rolling in his grave" remarked Anna.

The three of them were sitting in one of the storerooms, sneaking a quick break while Jinno went out to get coffee. The coffee machine in his office had broken down earlier that day, courtesy of Sumire, and Jinno would never sink so far beneath his exalted opinion of himself as to pour a cup from the other machine that the rest of the employees used.

"Now, to business, we need a Ruka supporter and a Natsume supporter to speak for both parties before we begin betting" said Nonoko, adopting a brisk, bossy tone.

"Wait, where are the boys? Did you two forget to call them?"

"Didn't you see the Queen Bee return? They'll be around whenever her majesty decides to pee"

"Oh no, Koizumi has returned?"

* * *

_AN: How will Luna's entry affect the story? Any guesses? What about Ruka and the big proposal that he's planning to spring on Mikan? _

_The next chapter should be up a lot faster than this one. I'm sorry for the long wait! Blame Bleach and Inuyasha for being so totally addictive!_

_-Liz_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The dog was finally caught hiding behind the couch. Mikan picked it up and was about to throw it out of her house, her compassion finally over now that the canine had messed up her perfectly ordered love life, when Natsume walked into the living room, carrying an old plastic tub and some soap.

"I thought you were planning to give it a bath," he said, nodding towards the pup.

Mikan froze. She was still far too embarrassed to say anything.

"Waiting for your tiny brain to process what I said?"

"Shut up!" she exploded.

Natsume smirked, satisfied. He couldn't bear those ridiculous blushes that she always treated Ruka to. At least her sheer dislike of him always removed any awkwardness between them.

"Well, we can give him a wash in the garden," said Mikan reluctantly.

"Garden?"

"Sure, there's one round the back, didn't you notice it?"

"That cramped little space full of weeds is supposed to be a garden?"

"Hey! It's not cramped! And there is a Sakura tree there!"

"I don't think one tree qualifies as a '_garden_'"

"You have no idea how much maintenance a single tree takes!"

"Hn"

"Oh gods, are you back to Grunting Mode?"

"You get the dog out, I'll carry the tub."

Natsume dragged the tub outside and set it under the Sakura tree in Mikan's '_garden_'. Mikan dragged the puppy out after him, still mad at the little canine. But as soon as the pup looked at her with his big, dark eyes she melted and started cooing, "Sweet doggy….."

"That dog is going to puke if you keep up that nauseating chatter" remarked Natsume, filling the tub with water. Mikan pouted and punched his arm.

As they bickered and argued over which shampoo to use, the strange bond between Mikan and Natsume strengthened.

* * *

"I can do this, I can do this," muttered Ruka, pacing in front of Mikan's house. Then he dumped his head in his hands and moaned, "Hell, I can't do this."

"Ruka? Is there a problem?"

Ruka looked up to see that Mikan had finally emerged from her house, only an hour later than she'd said she would.

"Not at all," he replied, trying to stretch his facial muscles into a smile.

"Are you ill?"

"Nope" he said, abandoning the attempt.

Mikan tried to think of something extraordinarily brilliant that would break the ice between them and also show Ruka how incredibly intelligent she was.

"Oh"

Yup, that was absolutely _stunning_.

They smiled nervously at each at other. This was going to be a long evening.

* * *

Mikan wondered if the restaurant would sue her for damaging their property if she poked herself in the eyeballs with one of the gazillion fancy forks on the table. The waiter had condescendingly explained to her how to use each one of them but they all still looked like just forks to her.

She looked around, wondering where Ruka had disappeared _again_. It wasn't the first, second or even third time that he'd suddenly left. During the appetizers, he claimed he'd left the car unlocked. In the main course, he said had to use the washroom. And for desert, he'd simply gotten up and run away, looking faintly green.

"Mikan?"

Mikan turned around to see Ruka standing behind her, a small black box in his hands.

"I'm sorry about the pathetic evening. I really wanted to do this right but I guess I just got so nervous…"

Mikan could feel a ball dropping into her stomach. It wasn't an ordinary ball either. This one was the size of a bowling ball and covered with poison tipped spikes.

"Will you marry me?"

Oh bugger.

She looked into his angelic blue eyes and for a second, she could see herself living comfortably with Mr. Perfect, in an ideal house with a great life.

"Yes"

* * *

Natsume Hyuuga was not a man/robot prone to introspection. But that evening as he walked down to the local pub to meet Koko and Mochu, he wondered why he couldn't get an irritating brunette with a loud, whiny voice out of his head.

It couldn't be her looks – she was cute enough in a girl-next-door way but hardly supermodel material. Although she did have a smile wider than a peeled banana. But that didn't make her beautiful, did it?

Couldn't be her (nonexistent) talents either. After all, making people smile and brightening up any room you enter can't be considered a _talent_. Being optimistic and cheerful all the time is just foolish.

Charm? As if. Tucking her hair behind her ear _like that_ while she got him coffee, it wasn't even remotely charming.

So what was it about her then that made it so utterly impossible for him to get her off his mind for longer than 2 seconds?

* * *

As usual, Koko was the first to figure it out. The mischievous boy possessed an almost uncanny knack of knowing what people didn't want him to know. It was the reason he managed to tease Sumire and emerge alive.

"Are you going to tell her before or after the wedding?" questioned Koko, leaning across the table on his elbows.

"What wedding?" snapped Natsume. He was deeply regretting the insane impulse that had prompted him to continue his walk to the pub. He drank another shot and leaned back, resigned to his hideous fate.

"_The_ wedding!" said Koko, who was an extremely enthusiastic drunk. Mochu, on the other hand, was slinking further back into the corner with each sip, the epitome of a quiet, moody drunk.

"Tell who?"

"Mi-chan!"

Natsume frowned. "Mickey Mouse is getting married?"

"No!" hiccupped Koko "Mikan and Ruka are!"

"I wish Mickey Mouse would get married," added Mochu thoughtfully.

Natsume stood up so fast that he upset the table, splashing a mug of cold beer into Koko's face in the process.

"WHAT?"

"Poor guy can't handle his drink," explained Mochu, to a man who'd stopped to stare at the pandemonium.

"Mikan's getting married? When?"

"Dunno"

Natsume ordered another shot.

Koko's self preservation instincts were still wrapped up in a thick layer of happy juice and so he continued, "Should I tell her that you're in love with her?"

For the second time in so many minutes, Koko received a blast of liquor in his face.

"Wish you'd stop doing that," he complained, apparently unaware of Natsume's thunderstruck expression or the long string of swear words he was muttering, "I mean, free drinks are good, but I like mine in a glass."

"I love Mikan. _Oh hell!_"

With that eloquent expression of his emotions, Natsume stormed out, leaving Koko behind to wonder, "What's with him?"

"Can't handle his drinks."

With that enlightening statement Mochu fell flat on the table, snoring.

His friend shrugged and joined him in his state of blissful oblivion.

_

* * *

_

An hour earlier

Mikan had thought she was nervous when she was with Ruka. However the nervousness she felt when she was with Ruka was nothing compared to the waltzing frogs that invaded her stomach when he wasn't around. When she was near Natsume, the only creature alive who she knew could talk her out of the wedding, those frogs burst into enthusiastic hip hop.

She knocked tentatively on the door. No response. A little louder. Zilch.

"Natsume?"

No reply.

"Well," she huffed, "After all that drama and intense suspense, he isn't even at home."

She looked around and found, to her surprise, that her usually chaotic house looked somewhat _tidy _for a change. In one corner of the room, a small bundle moved.

"I do not believe in ghosts," declared Mikan with a firmness that belied the distinct quiver in her knees.

The bundle shook a little more. A furry tail peeped out of one end and a puppy emerged from the bundle.

"That puppy is absolutely determined to give me a heart attack," thought Mikan, relieved to find out that The Secret Mover Of The Stranger Bundle was just a little canine.

But coronary-inducing or not, the puppy was very cute. Mikan melted and bent down to pat his head. He responded by licking her hand.

She laughed at the dog's antics and called out, "Natsume? You upstairs?"

There was no reply from above the stairs.

"Well, either he's out for drinks again or he's asleep," she informed the puppy. "Do you think we should go check?"

Her canine friend barked his agreement.

Her bedroom was completely devoid of life apart from a small rat scurrying around one corner. Thinking she would take care of that later, Mikan sat down on her bed and took off the earrings she had worn for the evening. Hanging them up beside her mirror, she began to talk to the dog again.

"Should I wait up for him?"

The dog barked in response.

"No wait, that sounds pretty pathetic. Plus I'm trying to avoid him, remember?"

Another bark.

"You aren't even listening, are you? Anyway I'll wait till midnight and if he isn't back then I'll walk over to the local pub myself and drag that idiotic boy back. I have to lock my house down for the night you know."

Mikan looked down and saw that the dog was busy chasing its own tail. Sighing, she fell back against the bed and picked up a novel that she had been reading before Natsume had arrived.

It was typical girly romance, with a couple holding hands on the cover. Wait a minute, did the girl have a _mustache_? And why did the boy have _horns_?

She shrugged and flipped the book open to where she had left it. For a while she read her book peacefully while the dog slept near her feet. Then she reached the final scene, where the couple kissed each other and lived happily ever after.

"Just like Ruka and I will" she thought contentedly.

Her Mr. Bear alarm clock buzzed – it was midnight.

"Right," she thought, getting up and changing into a simple pair of jeans and sneakers, "Time to get the drunkard home"

She walked to the pub, determined to hold her own against Natsume for once. As she stepped into the crowded room, she heard a familiar voice say, "I love Mikan!"

A familiar dark haired, crimson eyed boy got up from one of the corner seats and left the pub with such remarkable speed that he completely missed the girl who watched him go, her mouth open wide enough to fit a football.

* * *

_I'm sorry for the long gap between chapters! I'm currently busy with a Percy Jackson/Artemis Fowl crossover that I will be posting shortly so I haven't really had time for this story. I'm sorry!_

_Wish me luck for my Maths exam tomorrow :)_

_Believe me, I really need it!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Mikan Sakura ran home and slammed her house's door shut behind her. She then proceeded to do exactly what any woman, confronted with the idea of two devastatingly handsome men in love with her at the same time would do.

She cried.

She cried for the sting of the rejection that one of them would have to face, for the hurt she would cause no matter whom she chose, for her own selfishness in wishing that she could have both of them and added a bout of tears for the poor abandoned puppy for good measure.

After some time (three body wracking sobs to be precise) later, Mikan's doorbell rang.

She looked up, momentarily jerked out of her pity party. After a second of careful consideration, she wailed loudly and resumed her former activity in the hope that whichever idiotic salesman had decided to pick her house that night would take the hint and go away. (It was highly unlikely that Natsume would be returning for another couple of hours judging by his dazed expression and state of mind when he exited the pub)

However, either the salesman was deaf or extremely persistent because the doorbell's shrill sound punctuated Mikan's misery yet again.

It is said: Never, ever interrupt a girl when she is having a 'good cry' if you like your limbs.

This line, while decidedly un-poetic, is nevertheless true. Fixing a glare on her usually cheerful face Mikan opened her door and found herself confronting a petite brunette with startling violet eyes.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"I was under the impression that I was pressing a button."

"You weren't pushing a button you were pushing me over my metaphorical cliff! I'm going insane with grief here and you want to sell me deodorant? Or is it pesticide this time? Congrats! I have a stinking raven haired bastard and a blonde pest here and I'm dumb enough to be in love with BOTH of them! Even though they're nothing more than stupid smelly bugs. Oh and by the way, I had an epiphany today: She's one whacked out sadist!"

"Who?" asked the girl, seeming amused by Mikan's outburst.

"Fate! And another thing –"

"My name is Hotaru Imai. I believe you've met my business partner, Mr. Narumi."

This effectively shut Mikan up for the next 30 seconds while she gaped at the woman who had created Natsume. She was a little on the short side but what she lacked in size she easily made up for in sheer _presence_. Hotaru Imai's aura was rather intimidating. Her face was expressionless but her eyes were bright and vivid, analyzing everything around them. Those eyes bored into Mikan's for just a split second but she could have sworn she saw dollar signs pop up in them.

She walked into the house without waiting for an invitation and whistled softly. At once, the puppy Mikan had thought asleep bounded up to her and tried to lick her hand. Hotaru scrutinized it for a second, then opened up a small notebook and began to scribble furiously in it.

Mikan chose this completely inappropriate moment to giggle and tearfully observe, "No one asks me if they can come in. Everyone just comes and goes as they please! Especially those two!"

Hotaru spared her a slightly pitying look and said, "You don't have a lock on your door. Also you are hysterical," before returning to her notes.

"What're you doing?" asked Mikan.

"Taking notes."

"Oh. What are you noting?"

"This Doggei's performance report. I'm still considering the question of whether or not to mass produce these."

"Mass produce doggies?"

"_Doggei_," corrected Hotaru, while continuing to write, "DOG Genetically Engineered Intelligence."

Mikan shrieked and edged away from the puppy, which was still gazing at Hotaru with unabashed admiration in its eyes.

"You mean this is a robot too?"

"An intelligence gathering system. It's not fully functional yet. This is one of the earliest models. I'm using it to check how the only person ever to have bought a Natsume Hyuuga Unit is faring and also recording it's first ever test run. You are Mikan Sakura, correct?"

"Yes."

"Are you satisfied with the performance of your Unit?"

A wail informed Hotaru that the brown haired girl before her had returned to her former past-time with renewed vigor. Mikan sat down on her sofa, which was one of the few pieces of furniture in her house still precariously clinging on to its balance.

Hotaru sighed and sat down beside her, awkwardly patting her shoulder. "I suppose you fell in love with the Unit."

A muffled sob answered her question and soon Mikan began to pour her heart out to the irritated and uncomfortable girl before her.

"First there was Ruka. He's so amazing and kind and considerate and polite and everything any girl could ever want! I love him!"

"So?"

"Then _Poof!_ Natsume appeared! He's the most incredibly rude, arrogant and flat out dumb person on the planet! I love him too! He has a bad boy air around him and he's sexy. He can be really funny. We fight all the time but there's this undeniable chemistry that I can't explain. If I dated him we'd fight half the time and kiss the rest. To make matters worse, I love both of them and both of them love me."

"Well, there are worse problems then having to choose between two handsome men who love you."

"They're complete opposites! How can I possibly love both of them at the same time?"

"Ruka soothes you and Natsume excites you. It's understandable that you would like both of them."

"But I still have to pick! Who do I choose?"

Hotaru Imai leaned back on the sofa and smirked. "Listen to your heart."

A cushion sailed through the air and she neatly dodged it.

"Or," she added, "Have your cake and eat it too."

"How?"

Her eyes twinkled and this time, Mikan was sure of the dollar signs glowing in them.

"Just how much money do you have in the bank? Any disposable assets you could dispose for cash? Inheritance?"

_

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_

AN: I'm sorry for the long gap between chapters! Rest assured that the next chapter is already written and will be posted as soon as I finish re-reading it for errors. It will be the final chapter of this story.

_A major reason for this break is that I re-read what I had written earlier and was absolutely mortified to see my pathetic storyline, cheesy dialogues and stereotypical characters. I tried to edit the story a bit but it just didn't interest me anymore. However I hate to leave a story hanging so I'm wrapping all this up next chapter._

_On a completely unrelated side-note, does anyone want to see a Luna/OC fic? I found one gathering virtual dust in my computer and I'm willing to post it if anyone's interested. _


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice

* * *

A week later, Hotaru Imai sat in her office, lightly drumming her fingertips on the desk before her as her secretary handed her a folder. The poor young man looked ready to faint at the sight of his usually taciturn boss actually _smiling_. The tiny upward curve of the lips was so out of character for her that after giving a small, unnecessary bow, which elicited no response other than a curt dismissal, he wondered who she had killed the day before.

Hotrau opened the folder and her expression grew brighter at the sight of the bill that lay within it.

_Imai Cooperation_

_Robotics Unit_

_#117645*7647#90_

**Product:**

Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl Unit

**Quantity:**

No.s, 1

**Credit Card Number: **

**Registered to:**

Mikan Sakura

_Thank you for purchasing an Imai product! If the product is defective or you wish to exchange it for another within 15 days of purchase please contact our Customer Care Centre (open 24x7) at 1 – 800 – GA immediately!_

The money that Mikan had paid her for the unit after selling her house and almost everything else she owned still made Hotaru happy by mere recollection of the exact sum. It was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant deals she had ever made.

Another piece of paper was kept below the first, with two clippings pasted on it. The first one, a piece from The Alice Times, read:

**Happily Ever After!**

(Picture of a brown haired girl in a white dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, with a handsome blonde man standing beside her)

_The wedding of Ms. Mikan Sakura to Mr. Ruka Nogi, both graduates of Alice Academy, took place in the day. No rain occurred to mar the beauty of the event and the sky remained a clear, pristine blue. The wedding took place in a local church with friends and family of the bride and groom in attendance, followed by a celebration in a specially erected tent on the groom's estate. The bride was radiant and cheerful and the groom equally satisfied with his excellent choice. Close friend of the family, Anna Umenomiya, was responsible for the towering wedding cake. A live band played tunes to further enliven the mood and the event ended on a high note with the groom and bride locked in a passionate embrace on the dance floor._

The second clipping, on the other hand, was a photocopy of a marriage certificate confirming that Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura had married in Las Vegas, USA. The certificate had just arrived from the Clark County Recorder's Office, Marriage Bureau. Strangely enough, the date of the wedding on the certificate was exactly one day before the date The Alice Times had printed the first article.

This meant that both marriages had taken place on the same day.

Hotaru heard her office door being pushed open but didn't bother looking up. There was only one person in Imai Cooperation who would dare enter her office without knocking.

"Well?" asked Narumi, twirling his latest plaything, an old fashioned handheld fan.

She looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation on her face. "You're a lot cannier than you look."

He gave a flourishing bow, like an actor stepping onto the stage at the end of a play and waiting for applause that he knows he deserves.

"But was such an elaborate plot really necessary?"

"Ah, Hotrau-chan! You don't understand the creativity that leaps from my soul! I must express it!"

"In other people's lives?"

"But you must admit, my plan rid us of our most unmanageable Unit and made enough money to satisfy even you! We got the costs of far, far more than two Units back on the sale of the last Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl Unit!"

"We could have just recycled the Unit for scrap metal."

"No!" said Narumi, aghast, "Toss away such a beautiful creation?"

"It set three factories on fire."

He waved his fan again and said, "We have enriched three lives! What are three factories?"

"Currently, ashes."

"Precisely!"

Hotaru looked at the man in front of her and wondered for the millionth time why she had chosen a madman as her partner.

END

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AN: I'm extremely sorry for updating a week later than promised! A special thanks to Miko (MikoKagome1113) whose reviews were always super encouraging :)

In case anyone didn't get it, Mikan and the Mikan Unit married Natsume and Ruka. Who the real Mikan married is an open question, you can assume whatever you like based on which pairing you prefer. Or maybe the two Mikans switch around between the two boys? Who knows ;)

- Liz


End file.
